TCRA director genera­l John Mkoma said the programme was run in a bid to help address the shortage of professionals in the sector.

He said that the TCRA announced the scholarships last year and the applicants were selected by involving various independent experts and bodies, including the Higher Education Students’ Loan Board (HESLB).

The successful candidates were selected from 46 applicants. Among them are a PhD student, two pursuing masters' degrees and the rest, undergraduate degrees.

Communications, Science and Technology permanent secretary Dr Florence Turuka said extra efforts were needed to enable more students to access higher education, especially in the ICT field.